Under the Surface
by betsybugaboo
Summary: A drunken kiss reveals hidden feelings between the best partners of Bokuto Precinct and the White Hawk.


I finished this series recently and was hit by the OT3 bus, big time. For details, you can read my descent into OT3 hell on my blog, post number 148486435001. For the purposes of this fic, the kiss between Shouji and Natsumi never happened, and Natsumi and Shouji are just good friends. Set after episode 51 of the original series. I don't own _You're Under Arrest!_

* * *

Of course, the feelings had been there, underneath the surface the entire time. They had only strengthened after both the worry of the renegade officers and the stress of the car theft investigation.

But when it finally happened, it happened like this:

They had all planned to go out for drinks in the evening to celebrate their recent successful case, but Aoi had begged off, citing previous plans, and Yoriko had called half an hour late to tell them that she ' _was looost, you guysss!'_ and going home. That had left the three of them. By then, Natsumi had already downed two beers and was on her way to buzzed, Ken had downed a highball and was nursing a second, and she herself had gingerly sipped at her shochu fruit juice drink, letting the ice slowly melt into the drink. Yoriko's absence hadn't dimmed the evening any, and Natsumi, cheered that the night wouldn't end early to drag the station lightweight home, had then ordered a round of drinks for the trio. Ken chugged the last dregs of his highball and ordered a beer. Natsumi ordered another two for herself, and ordered a mikan chuhai for Miyuki.

The alcohol had kicked in shortly after that. Natsumi had roused half the bar into singing some pop song that had been playing at the karaoke bar next door an hour ago, and Ken was right there with Natsumi, doing his best to keep up. Miyuki, feeling her inhibitions fading thanks to the alcohol, had joined in at the end, smiling at the other two and catching her eyes on their faces. The song fest continued on for a while, losing steam after a while as patrons got too drunk to remember words or left for the night.

Before they knew it it had been another hour and a half and the bartender shooed them out onto the streets. Natsumi's eyes had been shining in the neon lights from the bars. Ken's eyes were still hidden behind his sunglasses even though it was dark out now. His face was flushed from the alcohol.

Natsumi slung an arm around Miyuki's shoulders. "Gee, that wash fun, you guys. Like, let'sh go out again next weekend."

Ken murmured his assent.

As they walked, he slipped his hand into Miyuki's. The blush on both of their faces couldn't be attributed solely to the alcohol they had consumed. A block from where the trio would split to head to their respective apartments, Natsumi broke the contented silence that had fallen. "Eh, Nakajima. You know, you should give Miyuki a good night kiss."

"Wha-what?!"

"What?!"

"Aw, com'on, Miyuki. Give Kenny a smackeroo." The two had looked away from each other, heat rising to their faces. It was lucky the streets were deserted at this hour. "Geez, how are you two going to get married if you can't even kiss each other?"

A moment had passed.

Then Ken leaned down and gave Miyuki a chaste but sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"No! Not like that, like this!" Natsumi unwound her arm from Miyuki and leaned in. Miyuki sensed what was coming, but didn't move or try to stop it. Natsumi pecked Miyuki on the lips, her mouth just a bit open.

"Tsujimoto?!"

"Natsumi!"

"What? It was a demonstration."

"But why'd you kiss her?!"

"I was showing you what to do."

"But-!"

"It's okay, Ken." Miyuki was surprised to find that she didn't mind Natsumi having kissed her, even in front of Ken.

The buzz of the alcohol had begun fading away. It was been easy to see from Ken and Natsumi's faces that they too had begun to edge back towards sobriety. She was still uninhibited enough, however, to take the risk. She pulled Ken closer, and reached out and caught Natsumi's hand.

"...Kiss me again, Kenny."

"Uh, s- sure!" He leaned in again, this time catching Miyuki's lips properly.

"I lo-love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course!' Ken rushed to assure her.

"Then is it okay with you if I kiss Natsumi again?"

Natsumi had looked at her, surprised. There was a moment of something close to shock, but not quite.

"...Do you want to kiss Miyuki, Tsuji- Natsumi?"

"...Yeah. I know you love her, but I wanna kiss her, too."

Ken paused a moment. "...Okay. It's fine with me."

Miyuki squeezed Ken's hand, then turned to face Natsumi. Natsumi had paused for a moment, to look at Ken, but something in his face reassured her and she leaned in to meet Miyuki's lips.

The kiss was brief and chaste. Natsumi let Miyuki break it off.

"Hey… Nakajima... I'm sorry. I know you love her, and she loves you, too. And I want her to be happy. But… I just couldn't stop myself from falling in love with her, too… I hope I didn't ruin our friendship, Miyuki." Natsumi had said, uncharacteristically quiet.

"...It's okay. I, well, I can see that you care for her..."

"I love you both." Miyuki's voice broke the silence. Looking down to hide her red face, she repeated herself, softer. "I love you both... I've loved you both for a long time. I didn't realize that you felt the same about me."

They both had blushed and looked at each other. There was a tension of almost anticipation in the air.

"...Would it be okay if we shared?" Natsumi had then said, confidence returning to her demeanor.

"Shared?!"

"Shared?!"

"Well, we both like you, right? So it could be like we both date you. You and Kenny can get married, if he ever gets up the guts to ask you, but I would still be your girlfriend or partner or whatever. I'm not into Kenny, but we're really good friends and we could work it out. I mean, if it's okay with you and Ken."

Miyuki looked at Ken. "What do you think, Ken?"

Ken took a breath and gave a hesitant smile. "I really love you, Miyuki, and I want you to be happy. And I know that Natsumi's really someone I can trust. If you are willing to be shared, I'm in too."

Miyuki smiled, also hesitant but with happiness glowing in it. "We really will have to discuss this in the morning, when we're all completely sober, but if it's alright with both of you, then it's alright with me."

Natsumi had cheered at this, then, and pulled Ken and Miyuki into a group hug. Ken had given Miyuki a final kiss, then the duo had said their goodbyes and watched him tromp his way up the stairs into his apartment. Then, they walked home, holding hands and looking at the stars.

The next morning, Miyuki had awoken and immediately remembered the events of the previous night. She flushed bright red, then paled, the traces of happiness at the newfound arrangement fleeing as her worry grew. _What if I've ruined our friendships? What if Kenny doesn't want me to date Natsumi and him? What if Natsumi isn't willing to share? Why did I say 'I love you' so recklessly?!_

She had glanced at the time. It was later than she'd expected. She hadn't turned on the alarm because it was her day off. Miyuki rose and quickly dressed. Judging by the snoring, Natsumi was still asleep.

Miyuki took a deep breath and sat down next to the phone. She lifted the receiver and slowly dialed Ken's number. She could feel her face getting hotter and hotter as she listened to it ring.

" _Hello?"_

"...Hi, Kenny."

A moment of awkward hesitation.

" _Miyuki… about what we talked about last night…_ "

"I'm sorry! That was selfish and rude and I shouldn't ha-"

" _W-wait, Miyuki! I, uh, well… if it's still what you and Tsujimoto want, I'm willing to, uh, 'share' you… I know I'm too, well, shy to tell you how I really feel most of the time. And I really can see that you care for her and she cares for you. I trust you both. If you guys are willing to try, I am too."_

"You- you really mean it, Ken?"

" _Well, yeah, if you two do_."

"Hey! Is that Kenny?" Natsumi yelled down the hall. She had bed head and had clearly just woken up.

"Yes, it is."

"Ha! I knew it, your face only gets that red when you talk to him!" Natsumi had paused, then and glanced away. "...Miyuki, I-"

"Ken was wondering if, well, you, ah, still wanted to, uh, date me."

"He is?!"

" _Is that Tsujim- Natsumi?_ "

"Yes, Kenny. Please excuse me for a minute... Yeah, he is… Natsumi, you still want to, uh, 'share'?"

Natsumi blushed a little. "...Well, yeah- but only if it's okay with you and Nakajima. I don't want to ruin our friendship or get between you and Ken. I really like you a lot, but having you and Kenny's friendship is more important than that."

Miyuki smiled, though she too was blushing. "I- I'd like that." She turned back to the phone, blushing even redder. "Natsumi is willing if you are."

" _That's great! I mean- uh_ …"

"I know what you mean, Kenny. It'll take work, but I trust both of you. It's going to work out just fine."

She could still remember the fear, after Ken had had his leg broken by the renegade officers, and the misery after Natsumi had been transferred away for what she thought was forever. But her past unhappiness had begun to fade away, no longer under the surface but simply not there. And she couldn't be happier.

* * *

Alrighty: so, I come from a family of teetotalers, and have never gotten drunk in my life, so you can bet that I did a good deal of research into drinks. According to one site, beer is the most popular drink, along with sake (rice wine), highballs (carbonated whiskey and soda water mix, sold by the can), shochu (a grain alcohol served mixed with water, fruit juice, or tea and with ice), and chuhai (canned fruit flavored alcoholic drinks). Natsumi's impromptu chorus group is technically not culturally likely, but I could see it happening. I used a BAC calculator to guesstimate how many drinks it'd take to get them buzzed but not smashed.

Natsumi- 6 beers. I figure that she has a pretty good alcohol tolerance, based on the episode where she and Shouji drink all night.

Miyuki- a small shochu drink and a can of chuhai.

Ken- two highballs and two and a half beers.

I figure that the half hour walk would allow them enough time to get sober enough to consent properly.


End file.
